Founders Connect
Hosted by:
What the event is
Founders Connect is a dynamic, founder-first event crafted to foster genuine connections, provide valuable resources, and create an open space for sharing the challenges of the startup journey.
This event brings together founders, startup leadership teams, and their engineers for insightful conversations and inter-generational learning. Whether you're seeking advice, inspiration, or support, this event is designed to empower and elevate those building the next wave of innovation.
We’ll have:
When & Where
When: March 5th 2025
Where: London (Canada Water) - exact address will be shared with you once your attendance is confirmed.
Agenda
4-6pm: Office Hours
5:30-6pm: Facilities Tour
6-6:30pm: Networking, drinks & canapés
6:30-7:15pm: Founder Stories: Fireside chat
7:15-7:45pm: Facilitated Networking
8pm - late: Open networking
8-9pm: Executive Challenge Circle
*Note: Open Networking & the Executive Challenge Circle run in parallel
Fireside Chat with Agnes Czako
Agnes Czako
Founder & CEO at AirEx Technologies
Agnes is the Founder & CEO of AirEx, a London-based climate tech company with the mission to fight fuel poverty. Airex develops and manufactures smart home solutions that help reduce heat demand while maintaining healthy indoor environments.
Prior to founding Airex, Agnes was the Lead Assessor of an energy advisory organisation since 2011 where she led the delivery of 30,000 Fuel Poverty assessments. She is a certified Passivhaus consultant with 13 years of experience in low-energy building design. Agnes led numerous low-carbon innovation projects during her time at Sustainable Ventures, which led her to build her own company 6 years later. She is named 'UNICEF Young Climate Innovator' and received 'Women in Innovation' award from Innovate UK.
Expert Office Hours
Click or tap on each option for more information
Pitch Practice & Public Speaking Coaching
What: Do a run through of your pitch and receive feedback on your speaking style and delivery techniques from a public speaking coach.
You should attend these if: You’re about to fundraise or have upcoming speaking engagements and want to take your pitching & speaking to the next level.
Hosted by: Climate Connection
Climate Connection brings together the climate community to create opportunities for learning and collaboration, to support the growth of a more effective, faster- moving, and more resilient sector.
Ran by: Juliette Devillard - Founder & CEO of Climate Connection
Requirements: Attendees must come prepared to give a short talk or 5-10min pitch.
Length: 30 mins
Juliette Devillard
Founder & CEO of Climate Connection
Business Plan Review
What: Receive detailed feedback on the strength of your business plan. This session will help you refine your messaging and structure to make your business plan more compelling to investors.
You should attend these if: You’re about to fundraise or have upcoming speaking engagements and want to sharpen your business narrative, and ensure your deck aligns with investor expectations.
Hosted by: Prosemino
Prosemino creates, builds, and supports startups to tackle the net-zero challenge, offering a new model to fast-track innovations to commercial reality.
Run by: Gyen Ming Angel - Director of Venture Building at Prosemino
Requirements:
Pre-seed > seed stage
Considering or actively trying to fundraise
Attendees must submit their business plan in any form (pitch deck or written) before the event
Length: 30 mins
Gyen Ming Angel
Director of Venture Building at Prosemino
PR & Communications Strategy Review
What: Get expert insights into your startup’s public relations and communications strategy, and receive tailored feedback on your messaging, media engagement, and overall PR approach.
You should attend these if: You want to sharpen your startup’s public presence, are preparing for a big announcement or launch, or simply want to learn how to position your company more effectively in the media and public eye.
Hosted by: FieldHouse
FieldHouse is a specialist communications consultancy with an exclusive focus on the fast-growth tech, innovation and investment ecosystem. Founded in 2012, FieldHouse helps startups and scaleups align PR to commercial and strategic goals.
Ran by: Jhanvi Gudka - Associate Director at FieldHouse
Requirements:
Seed > Series B
5+ employees
Considering or actively seeking PR support - issue for discussion to be submitted in advance
Length: 30 mins
Jhanvi Gudka
Associate Director at FieldHouse
Commercial Contracts Advice
What: This session will help you with drafting, negotiating, or reviewing your supplier or customer contracts – so you can navigate the complexities and ensure your agreements are robust.
You should attend these if: You have a contract in mind that needs legal review or if you want to develop template documents tailored for your company – let’s have a chat!
Hosted by: Bird & Bird
Bird & Bird is a leading international law firm with a strong focus on helping start-ups and tech companies succeed. We're all about giving you practical, strategic advice that really makes a difference.
Run by: Simi Khagram - Technology Lawyer at Bird & Bird
Requirements:
Please bring along any relevant contracts you would like to discuss.
Length: 30 mins
Simi Khagram
Technology Lawyer at Bird & Bird
How to Set Up a Lab Space
What: Cover essential steps for setting up a lab, including lab design and planning, safety protocols - segregating and disposing waste safely, equipment and infrastructure requirements, and best practices for maintaining an efficient and compliant hard tech research environment.
You should attend these if: You’re a hard-tech company looking for lab space, or in the process of setting up your own research lab.
Hosted by: Prosemino & Bulb Interiors
Prosemino creates, builds, and supports startups to tackle the net-zero challenge, offering a new model to fast-track innovations to commercial reality.
Bulb Interiors is a unique organisation providing a single point of contact for the design & delivery of your laboratory.
Run by: Ami Shah - Innovation Lab Manager at Prosemino & Manisha Kulkarni - Director of Science & Technology at Bulb Interiors
Requirements:
Pre-seed > seed stage
Hard tech climate start-up that require lab space
Attendees are considering or actively trying to find lab space, or in the process of building out their facilities
Attendees should identify any particular technical challenges or concerns they have regarding lab safety, equipment, or scalability.
Length: 30 mins
Ami Shah
Innovation Lab Manager at Prosemino
Manisha Kulkarni
Director of Science & Technology at Bulb Interiors
IP Session with Withers & Rogers
What: Introduction to identifying & protecting your IP, Freedom to Operate and Competitive Landscape analysis and reporting.
You should attend these if: You’re in the early stages of IP planning and want insights into protecting your technology and/or Brand.
Hosted by: Withers & Rogers
Withers & Rogers is one of Europe’s largest dedicated intellectual property law firms. Established 140 years ago, W&R remains as passionate as ever about making intellectual property work to their clients’ best advantage. Their clients include many renowned, innovative organisations from across Europe, North America and Asia.
Run by: Ozgur Aydin - Junior Associate at Withers & Rogers and Andie McConnell - Associate at Withers & Rogers
Requirements:
Pre-seed > Series A, particularly those with unique technology or proprietary processes.
Considering, actively trying or unsuccessfully tried to develop an IP strategy or file an IP
Attendees should come prepared to discuss the competitive landscape and any known risks around IP (e.g., potential infringement, freedom to operate).
Attendees should prepare questions or discuss challenges they are facing
Length: 30 mins
Ozgur Aydin
Junior Associate at Withers & Rogers
Andie McConnell
Associate at Withers & Rogers
Team building and hiring mission-driven talent
What: An open session to discuss your hiring and talent strategy. I am on hand to answer any questions you may have about who to hire, salary benchmarking, talent availability, how to best structure your interview process and how to sell your mission and culture.
You should attend these if: You’re planning to grow your team in the next few months, and you’d like to make sure your offering is compelling in the market. Or if you’re an Investor looking to better support your portfolio companies with their talent strategy.
Hosted by: Above and Beyond Recruitment
We facilitate the growth of pioneering companies who are solving the climate crisis. We have supported over 25 climate start-ups in the last few years with building and growing their teams, and we offer a very comprehensive talent planning and recruitment service which is tailored specifically to early-stage and scaling businesses.
Run by: Cherry Swayne - Founder & CEO of Above and Beyond Recruitment
Requirements:
Attendees must be seeking to grow their team in the next few months.
Length: 30 mins
Cherry Swayne
Founder & CEO of Above and Beyond Recruitment
Go-To-Market : How to find and win anchor clients and reference wins
What: How can commercially focused Founders and Co-Founders build a business around their product/ service?
You should attend these if: You’re responsible for turning your product into a business and your strategy is focused on B2B client engagement and revenue.
Hosted by: K3C
K3C supports the Climate Connection community to accelerate the impact of their Mission and Purpose on Climate Imperative issues. We help founders and Startup’s to secure early-stage reference clients and build scalable repeatable go-to-market strategies & PMF that VC’s will invest in.
Run by: James Clark – Founder at K3C
Requirements: Attendees should have a good idea of where they are, where they want to be and be willing to explore how to get there.
Length: 30 mins
James Clark
Founder & CEO of K3C
Partner Overview
British Land is a property company which creates, owns and manages some of the UK’s best and most sustainable real estate.
We’re working closely with science and technology partners to create the best possible spaces for innovation, all within our London campuses, which are among London’s most diverse and attractive places to work.
Prosemino creates, builds, and supports startups to tackle the net-zero challenge, offering a new model to fast-track innovations to commercial reality. Founded in 2020 by leading innovators in energy technologies, our mission is to protect the environment and lower the cost of energy. By providing access to capital, industry connections, and specialised lab facilities, we reduce the commercialisation timeline to just 12-18 months, turning innovative ideas into reality.
Climate Connection brings climate changemakers together through impactful, interactive, and human-centric events!
Forget death-by-powerpoint and dinners where you meet the two people you sit next to. We design the kind of events we wish we were invited to. With an average rating of 9/10 on our event surveys, we know our community agrees.
